Grapevine, TX SWPPP & Stormwater Requirements

What does Grapevine require for SWPPP compliance?

The city's own erosion rules are older than most of the programs around them. Grapevine has operated its own Erosion and Sedimentation Control Ordinance since 1987, and it applies to individual building structures, subdivisions, excavations and fill operations, and all development — all lands within the city are subject to its provisions.

Decades before the state program took its current shape, this city had its own rules on the books — and they reach every parcel, not just the big earthwork.

When rules collide, the strict one wins

Under Grapevine's erosion ordinance, in the event of a conflict with any other city ordinance, the most restrictive ordinance governs. That single sentence decides arguments before they start — bid to the tightest reading.

The city watches the work

Grapevine's stormwater program commits the city to inspecting at least 80 percent of active construction sites annually, with a written or electronic inspection report provided to the site operator after a construction site inspection. A written report after an inspection means the finding is on file, not in passing.

Trees carry their own permit

In Grapevine, a protected tree is any self-supporting woody perennial with a caliper of three inches or more, measured at four and one-half feet above ground level, which normally attains an overall height of at least twenty feet at maturity. Grapevine requires a Protected Tree Removal Permit before protected trees are removed, and outside the ordinance's own listed exceptions, clear-cutting of protected trees on a property prior to the issuance of a building permit is prohibited. Three inches is a small tree — survey early, fence what stays.

Remove without a permit, replace at a premium

In Grapevine, protected trees removed without a permit must be replaced at 125 percent of the number removed, and no certificate of occupancy is issued for the site until all required replacement trees have been planted. The math is the deterrent — and the certificate of occupancy is the enforcement.

The state permit still applies

The city's rules sit on top of the state's, not in place of them. A stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWP3) must be prepared and implemented before construction activities begin. TXR150000's standard schedule requires construction site inspections at least once every 14 calendar days and within 24 hours of the end of a storm event of 0.5 inches or greater. The city ordinance and the state permit run together for the life of the disturbance.

Inspections and the record

The operator owns the inspection record from first disturbance to final stabilization. Terradyne provides routine SWPPP inspection reports with cloud-based client access. See SWPPP Inspections for how the program works, and Silt Fence Installation for the perimeter the reviewers will look at first.

Check before you mobilize

Ordinances and city standards get revised; confirm the current documents with the city before you mobilize. For other North Texas cities, start at Local Compliance.